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Liquor Review: Tommy Bahama Golden Sun

Published on July 26th, 2007 in Rum by Hunter

Tommy Bahama invites you to “taste paradise” with Tommy Bahama Golden Sun Rum. Released in Spring of 2007, Tommy Bahama Golden Sun is a blend of rums aged at least three years in Barbados. The family-owned distillery where it is distilled has been producing quality rums for 80 years. Tommy Bahama has long called themselves the “purveyor of island lifestyles”, so it is only natural for them to produce a quality rum to go along with all of their high-end tropical wear.

This golden rum has a very pleasant smell that includes hints of roasted nuts and barrel flavored goodness. When sipping Tommy Bahama Golden Sun, you are not assaulted with an over-powering sting. It goes down fairly smooth, followed by a nice warming sensation. Although smooth to sip, Tommy Bahama Golden Sun lacks serious flavor on the forefront. You can make out the hints of infused flavor, but these subtleties are somewhat squashed by the alcohol content. When I sip this stuff, I primarily notice the oak-like taste and perhaps also even a metallic taste you may associate with a lesser rum. If the corporate big-wigs at Tommy Bahama were shooting for a premium rum with no real distinctive flavor or property to set them apart from other decent rums, they achieved their goal. I somehow doubt that was their intention.

Tommy Bahama mixes fairly well with Coke©, but the alcohol taste from the rum still overpowers here rather than complementing the soda. The infused coffee, nut, and praline flavors are almost completely undetectable when mixed. If you are a big rum fan, you will definitely like the taste of this rum and Coke©, but it’s a very similar taste to other non-infused and less expensive rums. The female reviewer we had for this taste test gave Tommy Bahama Golden Sun a middle-of-the road rating, which was a little disappointing. Everyone remarked that the bottle looks really nice. Maybe you can impress a chick by showing her the bottle and encouraging her to drink something else. Make sure you leave the price tag on though because coming in at around $35 for a 750ml bottle in your local liquor store, the chick may be impressed and wonder about the size and health of your portfolio (that’s a stock portfolio, sicko).

Despite the slightly disappointing taste of Tommy Bahama Golden Sun Rum, it did do well in giving me a good and swift buzz. The drunk was a light and smooth one; it really made me feel comfortable with my surroundings. I’m not totally socially inept, but I do enjoy a little social lubricant to help with my people skills from time to time. Unfortunately, I felt that the buzz wore off a little too quickly. Luckily, everyone had left at that point. I also didn’t notice much of a hangover residue the next morning. Hooray<sarcastic>.

I was really excited by the prospect of a big name tropical clothing manufacturer producing a rum. After all, anything that will encourage big companies to research and produce fine liquors is awesome in my book. Unfortunately, this effort falls short of the ultra-premium rum market. It’s a good rum that may be worth a try if you want your booze to match your clothing, but there are much better rums out there for more reasonable prices. Perhaps Tommy Bahama should stick to producing clothing and leave the liquor production to the big boys with an established history in the market.

Sipability – 6.5

Mixability – 6.0

Drunkability – 7.0

Hangover-ability – 8.0

Bang for the Buck – 4.0

Chick-appeal – 5.5

Overall – 7.0